Jacob Kiplimo celebrated his back-to-back World Cross Country Championship gold medal in Belgrade, Serbia on March, 30, thanks to a defiant performance when he denied Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi and Kenya’s Benson Kiplagant. 

Kiplimo had started at the front of the field but with so many contenders behind him including his compatriot Joshua Cheptegei, it was Kiplimo who finally prevailed just three seconds (28:9) ahead of Aregawi (28:12) and five seconds from Kiplagant (28:14) in the third position. 

Joshua Cheptegei, the 2019 World Athletics Cross Country Championship gold medalist could not bridge the gap for podium places thus finishing sixth under 28:24 seconds. 

With an incredible performance in Belgrade and defending his title, there is one question that tickled our mind, can Kiplimo surpass Cheptegei? 

Why the comparison 

Comparison for athletes is subjective and determined by a myriad of factors but Kiplimo and Cheptegei, both are long distance runners, who in the last few years have written their names in the history books.

Since his debut at the Rio Olympics and winning his first medal (bronze) in the 10,000 m world junior championships in 2016 Bydgoszcz, Poland, Kiplimo has not gone a year without winning a medal at country, continental and world level. 

His gold medal on Saturday put him on 13 medals in total so far (6 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze).

Significant achievements such as a double in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2022 Commonwealth games in Birmingham, being Uganda’s record holder for the 3000 meters and his half marathon world championship gold makes a big argument for Jacob Kiplimo and why he can not be ignored when it comes to big men table talk.

On the flip side, for Cheptegei, this comparison might seem unfair because this is an athlete who has broken numerous world records including Bekele’s 16-year-old in 2021, the 5000m world record (12:55) that many said would never be achieved in the next few decades. 

Additionally, Cheptegei is the current world record holder for the 5000m and the 10,000m, also holds the world best time over the 15 kilometers and is a three-time world champion in the 10,000m. 

He has been compared to the greatest athletes of all time such as Haile Gebrselassie, Mo Farah, Kenenisa Bekele, Eliud Kipchoge, and most importantly continues to compete at his best level. 

By far, Cheptegei’s nature of wins has been loaded with captivating moments that have made him an idol, however, Kiplimo also is hitting his apex and emerging stronger.